


strike one you're out

by whichlights



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Animal Death, Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kevintines, kevin day likes animals 2k19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 12:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights
Summary: Remember that (a long time ago) Kevin Day had a mother who loved him and a normal life.





	strike one you're out

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in the middle of the night two months ago, gave it a cursory reread today, and posted it. tada. 
> 
> this was for day 3 of kevintines! prompt, family

“K-Day, K-Day!” Kayleigh laughed. “I’m back!”

“Ma!” Kevin laughed and ran towards his mother, away from a disgruntled babysitter. He hugged her legs and she picked him up. She was very strong because she played so much Exy. He wanted to be just like her. 

She ruffled his hair. “Were you good for Tina? Did you feed Strike?” She asked, naming the babysitter and his weasel. 

“Yes!” Kevin declared with a grin missing a tooth. Kayleigh gasped. “My baby lost a tooth while I was gone? For shame. Can’t miss anymore of  _ those  _ important moments.”

“Then you should stay home more,” Kevin said sternly. 

“How about you come with me more?” 

Kevin gasped. “You  _ mean  _ it?”

She laughed. “Come on. The Ravens are going to host a camp for little kids to learn to play Exy, and I’m helping Mr. Tetsuji run it.”

“I’ll help, too!” 

“You will! You and Riko have to help all the other kids. They might be very nervous, and some have  _ never played before _ .”

Kevin gasped. “Never?”

“Never. So you have to be  _ very supportive. _ ”

“I can do that!” Kevin cheered. “I’ll go pack!”

She ruffled his hair and put him down. “You go, my little star.”

\---

“K-Day, what are you doing?” Kayleigh came over with a grin, ruffling his hair. He tried to smooth it back into the cool style he’d had it in before. 

“Riko and I are gonna be the best,” he said, pointing at the markered number on his face. “He’ll be first and I’ll be second and we’ll be best friends and play Exy  _ forever _ .”

Sweet six year old Kevin Day didn’t see the flash of panic in his mother’s eyes. “Oh, sweetheart. You already are number one to  _ me _ .”

“What about me?” Riko demanded. 

“You’re both number one! There’s no right way to be the best, so you can both be the best. Besides, Exy isn’t a competition. It’s just a game. Remember that.”

Both boys nodded seriously. 

\---

“K-Day, I have to go to another meeting.” Kayleigh kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair. “Remember to feed the weasel.”

“Mo-om,” he whined, putting his hair back in place. “Will you ever stop doing that?”

She just grinned. “Never.”

\---

“K-Day, why do you have a number on your face?”

“Riko’s idea.” Kevin rubbed at the two on his face- it itched. 

Kayleigh paused, then smiled a little. It didn’t reach her eyes. “You know, you don’t have to be number two. If you ever don’t like playing Riko’s game, you can stop.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, let’s wash that off. Then we can get ice cream and watch a movie.”

“Which one?”

“You pick.”

“Ma, are you tired?” 

“A little. Nothing that spending time with  _ you _ -“ she poked him in the stomach and he laughed “-won’t fix.”

\---

“Ma?” Kevin rubbed his eyes, stumbling into the living room. “What’s wrong?”

Kayleigh looked at him. From across the living room, Tetsuji was frowning. “Oh, K-Day, did we wake you up?”

“Is this a late night practice? Is that why Mr. Tetsuji is here?”

“No,” she said firmly. “Because Exy is  _ just a game.  _ Sleep is important. We’re just having a little tiff on training style. But the discussion is over now.” She gave Tetsuji a pointed look. “Come on, darling, let’s put you back to sleep.”

\---

“K-Day, do you want to go visit Mr. David this weekend?”

“Yes!” Kevin cheered. His mother laughed and tried to ruffle her hair but he dodged. He paused. “Wait, why?”

“He’s helping his school make an Exy team, like the Ravens.”

“I want to help! Can I play for him?”

“Baby, I thought you were dead set on being a Raven.”

“I want to do both!”

Kayleigh laughed. “Oh, Kevin.”

“Let’s go now!”

“I have work to do right now. But this weekend, okay?”

“Okay!” Kevin ran to his weasel. “Hear that Strike? I’m going to help make an Exy team,  _ all by myself.  _ Maybe I’ll call them the Weasels!”

Strike just flicked an ear. 

\---

“David!” Kayleigh smiled. “It’s so good to see you.”

David leaned down to look at Kevin, who was hiding behind his mother’s legs. “This can’t be Kevin Day! Last time I saw him, he had all his teeth.”

“He keeps losing them! I’m surprised the tooth fairy hasn’t filed a complaint.”

“What are you going to call the team?” Kevin asked. 

“They’re going to be Foxes, like the football team.”

“Oh. I wanted to call them the Weasels.”

David smiled at him. “Want to see the court?”

Kevin lit up immediately. “Yes! Yes yes yes!”

Kayleigh smiled fondly, but Kevin thought she looked a little sad. Like she was imagining something else. 

He played extra good to make her smile again. 

\---

“Oh, K-Day, it’s okay.” Kayleigh held him tight and rubbed his shoulders. “It’s okay to cry.”

Strike was dead. The vet said he was sick and it was best to make sure he wasn’t hurting anymore. Kevin held his paw when he died. 

Kevin hugged her. “Can we bury him?”

“Oh, of course we can, honey.”

“Was he happy?”

“I think he was very happy.” Kayleigh paused. “Do you want another weasel?”

Kevin thought about it and nodded. “But not yet. I still miss him.”

She ruffled his hair. “Okay, K-Day. Whenever you’re ready.”

\---

“K-Day, I’ve got to go out of town, just quickly.” Kayleigh kissed the top of his head. “Tetsuji will be over in a little, and in the morning you can play with Riko.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“Just until tomorrow night. The ERC wants my opinion on something. I’ll be back so quick, you won’t even know I’m gone.”

“Do you have to go?”

Kayleigh smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

“Ma? Can we get a new weasel tomorrow?”

“The day after tomorrow. I promise.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

“Bye, angel.”

\---

“He’s been on the phone for a very long time,” Riko whispered. 

Kevin nodded. “It’s probably very serious.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Look, he’s coming back!”

After a phone call that must have lasted an  _ hour _ , Tetsuji was walking back onto the court. He looked tired, and his eyes were red. He leaned a little heavier on his cane than usual. “Kevin.”

“Yes, Mr. Tetsuji?”

“Your mother…”

“Was that her?” Kevin smiled. “Did she want to talk to me, but we were busy practicing?”

“There was a car wreck.”

Kevin blinked. “What does that have to do with my mother?”

Beside him, Riko breathed in sharply. 

“She was in it.”

“Is she in the hospital? I need to talk to her!” Kevin reached out, as if Tetsuji would give him a phone. 

“Kevin, your mother is dead.”

“But.” Kevin paused. “But?”

\---

“She never got me a new weasel.”

It was a startling observation that came out of nowhere. Kevin didn’t even realize he said it out loud until Dan went, “uh, what?”

He winced and shook his head. “I just…”

The freshmen were looking at him with wide eyes, stunned at personal information from Kevin Day. The rest of the Foxes had mixed reactions- Dan, Matt, and Nicky seemed concerned, Neil, Aaron and Allison looked mildly curious, Renee looked sympathetic and Andrew looked like he was wondering if he needed to worry about the  _ she _ . 

His father just sighed. “Alright, practice is over, why are you all hanging around here?”

The freshmen took their leave quickly, and the rest of the Foxes followed, slower. Coach pulled him aside. “What was that?”

“I just… today is the day. My mother…”

“Her death was yesterday.”

“No.” Kevin felt like shrinking. His voice felt tight. “The night before she died, she promised we would get another weasel the day after tomorrow. Today’s the anniversary of that day and I just… I just remembered  _ that’s  _ what I said when I was told she was never coming back. It’s… so stupid. I don’t know why I brought it up. I’m sorry.”

“If I had to guess,” his father said carefully. “You were in shock. And instead of confronting what had happened, you latched onto something else. Like a pet.”

Kevin shrugged. “I guess.”

Neither of them spoke for a while. It felt like a silent confession on it’s own, with both of them meaning the same thing-  _ I miss her _ . 

“Hey. Do you want to go get a weasel?”

“Andrew and Neil will hate it. And pets aren’t allowed in the dorms.”

“Therapy animals and emotional support animals are. And let me handle the bastard lovebirds.”

Kevin blinked. “I… okay. Yes, I want a weasel.”

“Well then, come on K-Day.”

Kevin found himself smiling. 

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is witchlightsands, my aftg sideblog is genderfluidkevinday and kevin is ! the best one.


End file.
